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'Uptick in crime' spurs south Edmonton community to seek solution

'Uptick in crime' spurs south Edmonton community to seek solution

Residents of a south Edmonton neighbourhood are alarmed by an "uptick in crime" in recent months, says the president of the Malmo Plains Community League.

"We've had in the past few months kind of an uptick in crime, mostly property crime, in our neighbourhood," Levi Bjork told Edmonton AM host Mark Connolly on Monday.

"There are certainly neighbourhoods with much higher crime, but we're trending in the wrong direction."

The Edmonton police neighbourhood crime map lists 58 crimes in the neighbourhood in 2016, 69 in 2017 and 28 so far this year.

The community, bordered by 51st Avenue and Whitemud Drive, between 111th and 122nd streets, has witnessed two violent criminal cases in recent months.

In March, more than 460 charges were laid against 34 teens who were using Edmonton's south LRT system to carry out a months-long crime spree.

Several of the crimes, which left victims with serious internal and facial injuries, occurred at the Southgate LRT station, which is on 111th Street.

On April 17th, Iain Armstrong, 61, a store owner in Southgate Centre, was attacked when he tried to stop a man stealing items from a vacant mall kiosk.

Armstrong died of his injuries a few days later.

Jordan Martin Cushnie, 23, was arrested by RCMP Sunday and faces numerous charges including second-degree murder.

Bjork wonders how big a role the community's proximity to the LRT station plays.

"One of the great things about Malmo is its proximity to LRT, to Southgate mall," said Bjork. "Getting to and from work is easy."

The downside, though, is the "accessibility cuts both ways," he said.

Over the next few weeks the Malmo will contact other community leagues along the south LRT line including Empire Park, Lendrum and Pleasantview to learn what they are experiencing in terms of crime, said Bjork.

"I think the best solution is going to be generated within our communities," he said.